Shokaku

The Shokaku was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy that was launched on 1 June 1939 and commissioned on 8 August 1941. The ship was the sister ship of the Zuikaku, and she took part in the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of the Coral Sea (during which her flight deck was rendered unusable due to heavy damage), the Battle of Santa Cruz, and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. The US Navy submarine USS Cavalla (SS-244) fired several torpedoes at Shokaku, and the fires aboard the ship proved impossible to control. Before the evacuation progressed very far, the ship took on water and sunk, taking 1,272 men with her, while Captain Matsubara Hiroshi and 570 men were rescued.